VW Golf wins Drive Car of the Year

In a sign of the times, the car with the smallest engine has won this year?s Drive Car of the Year awards.

29 November 2009Richard Blackburn

The Volkswagen Golf has a tiny 1.4-litre engine that uses a third less fuel than a Holden Commodore, but the German hatch accelerates quicker than the big Aussie sedan.

The secret to its efficiency is a rare combination of turbocharging and supercharging that creates more power using with less fuel.

It?s a recurring theme in the automotive industry, with car companies looking to extract more power from fewer cylinders to meet stringent new emission laws around the globe.

The Golf beat a total field of 46 finalists, including 13 other category winners, to scoop the prize.

Other category winners were equally focused on fuel efficiency, with frugal diesel-engined vehicles winning four categories.

Diesel passenger cars, still a rarity on Australian roads but very popular in Europe, won two awards: the Jaguar XF was voted Best Luxury Car over $60,000 and the Volkswagen Passat won Best Luxury Car under $60,000.

Diesel-powered off-roaders also dominated their categories, with the Volvo XC60 and Land Rover Discovery diesel models taking the gongs.

Even in the performance car category, the BMW 135i beat the brutish HSV GTS, despite having an engine half the size of the big Aussie sedan.

The Drive Car of the Year Awards are the automotive equivalent of the Good Food Guide, with Drive?s team of journalists sampling more than 500 vehicles over the past 12 months before choosing the list of finalists.

Safety was another key area of improvement in this year?s field, with every car offering the option of potentially life-saving stability control technology, which can correct a skid if a driver loses control of a vehicle.

Stability control will be mandatory on new passenger car models from 2011, although, controversially, commercial vehicles are exempt from the mandate.

Australia had a lone winner in the awards, with the Holden Commodore SS Ute winning its category on the back of a world-leading safety package.

The Commodore ute is the world?s first ute to get a five-star independent NCAP crash test rating. It?s also the first ute to come standard with six airbags and stability control.

European-built vehicles dominated this year?s event, with nine awards, followed by four awards for Japanese-built cars and the sole local winner.

In a worrying sign for local car makers, the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon sedans were relegated to the minor placings behind the imported Nissan Maxima and Honda Accord.

The other locally built vehicles, the Ford Territory, Toyota Camry and Toyota Aurion, all missed out on the finals.